Sandy could swamp recovering airlines

Already fighting with tough operational challenges, hurricane Sandy is beating on airline companies that are still trying to make a post-crisis turnaround.

Over 6,800 flights have been cancelled because of the storm.

Most notably, the three major airports in the New York metropolitan area — JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia – have cancelled all departures and arrivals.

Sandy is slated to halt production at a number of refineries on the East Coast. Depending on the damage and the duration of any closures, fuel costs could temporarily increase for the end of October and the beginning of November.